The scientific worldview is that there is time, space, matter and energy, and consciousness somehow arises out of those four things. Science does not explain consciousness. Science is created on the basis of consciousness but consciousness is not explained by science. It is a huge paradox. But in quantum mechanics, by going deep into the subtlety of matter they have reached the point where spirituality begins — the point of connection between matter and consciousness, physical energy and metaphysical energy.
We remember the structure of the atom from our school days: there is a nucleus with electrons spinning around it. More than 99.99 per cent of an atom is empty space. There is very little that is substantial, and even the substantial part is made up of sub-atomic particles. The particles produce vibrations. Human souls also produce vibrations according to the quality of their consciousness, and it is through these vibrations that consciousness affects matter.
That empty space in atoms is what we call ether, which is one of the five elements, the other four being fire, earth, water and air. Quantum physicists now say that matter forms because of the information present in the empty space. What puts the information there? It is consciousness.
Time, space, energy, matter and consciousness are all interconnected, and consciousness affects the other four. We souls are shaping the world around us, which comes out of our consciousness, which puts information into the empty space. We don’t create matter, but we shape it. We shape our relationships and matter according to how we are, individually and collectively.
So, when I am interacting with the world and I face an obstacle, that obstacle is my creation, the result of my consciousness.
To understand this and see things as they are, without any colouring by my mind, I have to be really detached. Attachment makes me see things as I am. I can understand what has value and what does not only if I am detached.
Is the world I am producing around myself a pure world? How is my interaction with time, space and matter? When souls are pure, things happen in the right place, at the right time, in the right manner. When they are less pure, they have to try to make things happen, and when they become impure, things happen to them.
If you are easy, nice and natural, the world around you will be like that. To be like that you have to be detached and see the whole picture. But our perception is limited by our consciousness. Just as icebergs are 10 per cent visible and 90 per cent under water, humans are just 0.1 per cent ‘visible’, and if I think that I know people from the 0.1 per cent I can see, it is unrealistic.
This narrow perspective is like our physical vision, which is limited but we think we can see everything. We see only three per cent of the electromagnetic spectrum: we can’t see anything after violet or anything before red — we can’t see gamma rays, X-rays or microwaves.
Similarly, we think we know people, but when we don’t know even ourselves how can we know someone else? How can I define someone else — that this person is like this? If I really want to be detached and see things and people as they are, I have to go to my internal gallery where I have people and things classified and labelled and I have to remove all the labels. Only then can I start to create a better world.
Ken O’Donnell, an author and international consultant on strategy and leadership, is the director of Brahma Kumaris’ services in South America.